Around the world millions of people in hundreds of countries shut off their lights to show their support for global climate change awareness. Take action by showing your support for a better future. See this year’s official Earth Hour 2013 video.
Want to learn more about Earth Hour 2013, click HERE.
One of the five senses is feeling and touching. Using our hands to explore is probably the second most used sense. In this activity, the kindergartners are exploring the sense of touch using a feely bag. In the bag are several different objects. I would describe the object and ask them to feel for that object. For example, I asked them to feel for something that is hard, smooth and round. Any guesses? It was a marble. They did really well feeling for objects that were soft and fuzzy, smooth and flat, or scratchy and flat. Take a look at the activity below.
The kindergartners are learning how scientists use their eyes to make careful observations. When comparing and observing different things, such as insects, the scientist must look carefully for the differences between the different insects. Some insects look like others and so it is important to observe the shapes, size, and color of the insects.
In this activity the kindergartners are playing insect bingo. I’ve posted up an insect card and the students must carefully find the insect on their card that matches. Many of the insects look the same, so they had to use the keen eyes to determine if it is the same.
My favorite experiment do with the kindergartners is definitely the Glow Germ experiment. Everywhere I look forward to starting off the year with teaching the students why we always ask them to wash their hands at school. Wash when they are dirty. Wash after the bathroom. Wash before lunch. Wash! Wash! Wash!
This experiment demonstrates to the kindergartners that germs can spread with just a little hand shake. Using a washable lotion that glows in the dark, students are greeted by Mrs. Chang who has the “fake” germs on her hand. They quickly see the germs transfer from my hand to theirs when they view it glowing the the UV light. WOW! The student’s reactions are always the funniest and most exciting part.
After they see they now have the “fake” germ from Mrs. Chang, they shake another person’s hand and share the germ with them. Then we check to see who has the germs now.
We have a discussion about how germs can spread easily and how they can make us sick. Students also learn about how to wash their hands appropriately. They explained to me that they wash their hands with warm water and soap for about 25 seconds. In order to make the time go by they sing the Happy Birthday song or Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.
So each student goes and washes his / her hands. Then we check again to see how well they did. WONDERFUL!! With only a few here and there under the finger nails, which is by far is one of the hardest places to wash, they washed away all those germs!
Take a look and see them in action!
My number one rule in my class..SAFETY. Be it with equipment, behavior, or emergencies. I always want my students to know what to do in case of an emergency. So it’s important that I start out my year going over safety procedures and drills, particularly with my new kindergartners.
As you can see KB students practiced emergency drills my class today. We never know when an emergency will occur, so students need to know where to go and what to do in science in case of one. Students practiced where to go in case of a fire drill, what to do in case of an earthquake and where to go for a lockdown.
They did a wonderful job in their practicing.
Friday, April 20, student at kula ha`aha`a participated in Poem in Your Pocket. Each student was asked to create their own or find a poem that they could keep in their pocket. Then if someone tapped them and asked them if they had a poem, each student would share their poem.
That day I had Mrs. Nihipali’s class in the morning for IE. So they decided to share their poems with each other. Enjoy!
The 3rd trimester started a few weeks ago and students are in full swing into their new units. Below are brief descriptions of what each grade will be exploring during the 3rd trimester.
Changes in Animals – How do animals grow and change? What is a life cycle? What is the life cycle of plants and animals? How do baby animals look similar or different from their parents?
Energy – How does the sun warm things?
Motion – Why do things move and fall? What are forces? What is gravity? What makes objects stop?
Magnets and Force – What can magnets do to other objects? What makes magnets attract or repel objects? How do people use magnets in their everyday lives? What is a force? What are magnets?
Forms of Energy – What are three main forms of energy? How does light move and what happens with it hits something? How does sound travel and move? How can heat make things change and move?
Work by Simple Machines – What are simple machines? How do simple machines make work easier? What are the 6 main simple machines and how do they work?
Energy and Transfer – What are ways that people use energy? Where does our energy come sources come from on the Island of Hawai`i? How does energy change from one form to another? How to use solar power to run a boat?
Do you love to write poetry or short stories? How about creating artwork with color pencils, markers, or or other art supplies? Do you love whales too?
Well, why don’t you participate in the 2012 Humpback Whale Month Ocean Contest by submitting your work to the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary. They are currently accepting entries for their 2012 contest.
All entries are due by 12:00 noon on March 15, 2012.
See the attached flyer below for more details.
Kindergartners Performing: Create in Me
Third Grader Performing: He Pule and Bless His Holy Name
Kahu’s Special Prayer
Kahu’s Message: Copycat
One of the fundamental scientific processing skills is observing. So in kindergarten, students are practicing to make keen observations. Recently, students were given a creature of some sort to observe and draw. Here are just a few pictures of them hard at work.
Using our senses is an everyday thing. However sometimes we forget how sensitive our senses are and how much we rely on them to make observations. The kindergartners got a taste of what our taste buds do for us by sampling various flavors.
Check out the video of the students tasting some sweet, sour and salty solutions. Some of their faces and reactions were priceless and tells you whether they liked it or not.
Kindergartners are learning all about using their five senses when making observations. Check out their activity where they had to feel for something in the bag.
Here is Mrs. Nihipali’s class performing the Five Senses Song.
Watch Mrs. Littrell’s class perform the Five Senses Song.
We’re on the ground.
We’re in the air.
We’re GERMS and we live EVERYWHERE!
This was the theme from the book Germs! Germs! Germs! by Bobbi Katz. Kindergartners listened as the book explained where germs are found, what germs can do and how they prevent germs from spreading. After discussing why we wash hands and where germs can be found, they conducted their first science experiment…my favorite one that I do with every kindergarten class.
Are there germs on your hand?
The experiment demonstrated to the students how germs can spread by just touching hands. Using a glow in the dark lotion, known to us as the ‘fake’ germs, one set of students greeted Mrs. Chang with a hand shake. Role playing a sick person, Mrs. Chang frequently cough, sneezed and rubbed her nose as she shook the student’s hand. We then checked to see if my germs, the lotion, transferred to their hands. (This is always my favorite part of the experiment.) Using a UV light, we checked their hands. If they had germs, it would glow a bright orange.
Eventually student shook each others hands to see how the germs can transfer to several people when hands are not washed.
We ended the activity with a hand washing lesson. Students had wonderful ideas on how to wash hands.
Washing the germs down the drain.
Here are their suggestions:
Germs! Germs! Germs! from Kalei Chang on Vimeo.
Another fun day in science for kindergartners as they try out the interactive whiteboard. Here students are writing their names with the special pen. The boards allows manipulation of items on the screen, as well as interactively write with partners. As the year goes, by I’m sure they will get the hang of using the boards.
